Avaliação do perfil dos autos de infração ambiental lavrados pelo escritório regional de Curitiba do órgão ambiental estadual do Paraná no período de 2018-2022

Abstract

Harmful behaviors and activities detrimental to the environment are subject to triple accountability: civil, criminal, and administrative, as provided in Article 225, §3 of the 1988 Federal Constitution. In terms of administrative responsibility, state environmental agencies have the authority to issue environmental infraction notices and initiate administrative proceedings. In the state of Paraná, within its jurisdiction, the Institute of Water and Land (IAT) is responsible for the environmental oversight of actual or potentially polluting or environmentally damaging activities, regulating and applying formal sanctions, resulting in environmental infraction notices. To carry out a survey and identify the profile of environmental infraction notices (EINs) in 29 municipalities in Paraná, the numbers of EINs issued by IAT between 2018 and 2022 were analyzed, classifying them according to typology and municipality. A total of 3,500 infractions were recorded during this period, with deforestation being the primary environmental infraction observed in the municipalities under the jurisdiction of the Regional Office of Curitiba of IAT. Specifically, there were 1,968 fines related to flora, accounting for 56.22% of the infractions during the analyzed period. São José dos Pinhais stood out in terms of the number of fines issued, being among the leading municipalities in four out of the five evaluated typologies. Within this period, it can be observed that the year 2018, the first year with data made available by the state environmental agency on its website, had the lowest numbers of infractions in all the classifications described in the Environmental Crimes Act (BRAZIL, 1998). However, the years 2021 and 2022 saw a significant increase in fines in the majority of the five typologies (crimes against fauna, flora, pollution, public ornamentation, cultural heritage, and environmental administration). It was identified that the supervisory entity needs to present and make the data more organized and intuitive, as it would facilitate public tracking of the information. The inclusion of filters is suggested, allowing, for example, the quick observation of location and type of environmental infraction notice by category.